Afghanistan

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After Rash of Deaths, UK Rethinks Afghanistan

(Newser) - Eight British soldiers were killed in Afghanistan last week within just 24 hours, the worst day of casualties the UK had seen in 30 years. After 15 fatalities in July alone, Gordon Brown is facing severe criticism for underfinancing the war effort, particularly for not providing enough helicopters to troops,...

A Baptist and a Mullah Team Up to Fight Taliban

US captain urges Afghan colonel to show faith to locals

(Newser) - A Baptist Army officer has teamed up with an Afghan mullah to fight Taliban propaganda that calls the Afghan army godless. “The only way we can keep people from becoming Taliban is by promoting the Muslim nature of the Afghan National Army,” says the mullah, Lt. Col. Abdul...

Afghan Reality TV Election Better Than the Real One

(Newser) - Afghanistan’s real presidential race has been a dull, somewhat depressing affair, with little viable opposition to incumbent Hamid Karzai—who one Western diplomat labeled “unpopular and unbeatable”—but the reality TV version is another story entirely, Time reports. The Candidate pits six young Afghans against each other...

Afghanistan Troops Face Smarter, Fiercer IEDs

(Newser) - The war in Afghanistan is getting deadlier for both coalition troops and Afghan forces, reports James Dao in the New York Times, mostly because of an increase in homemade bomb attacks—465  in May alone. The IEDs—improvised explosive devices—are getting more sophisticated as well as more common, and...

Reservist: Obama's Not a Citizen, Can't Send Me to War

Reservist says he shouldn't have to serve since Obama isn't a citizen

(Newser) - An Army reservist has devised a creative way to try to avoid going to Afghanistan: He says he isn’t obligated to follow the commander-in-chief’s orders because Barack Obama isn’t a citizen and therefore can’t legally be president, reports the Ledger-Enquirer of Columbus, Ga. His attorney, who...

Karzai Looks Vulnerable in Afghan Election

President remains in shadows, relying on powerful connections

(Newser) - Hamid Karzai’s stranglehold on the presidency of Afghanistan may be slipping, the Washington Post reports. Though no one is expected to beat him outright in the Aug. 20 election, he may fall short of the 50.01% of the vote needed to win. That would trigger a runoff, and...

Obama: Probe Alleged Afghan Mass Grave

Prez reacts to report that 2K Taliban POWs were killed

(Newser) - President Obama has ordered his national security team to investigate reports that US allies were responsible for the deaths of as many as 2,000 Taliban prisoners of war during the opening days of the war in Afghanistan. Obama told CNN in an interview that aired today that he doesn't...

Military Seeks Much Bigger Boost for Afghan Forces

(Newser) - America's new top commander in Afghanistan believes the country's security forces will need a much bigger upgrade than planned if President Obama's strategy is going to work, officials tell the Washington Post. Gen. Stanley McChrystal, still doing a 60-day assessment, is said to have concluded that the expansion of Afghan...

US Quashed Inquiry Into 2001 Afghan Mass Murder

(Newser) - The Bush administration stonewalled human rights organizations and branches of the US government that sought an investigation into the alleged mass murder of Taliban prisoners in Afghanistan in 2001, the New York Times reports. As many as 1,500 people may have died in the incident, under the command of...

Kerry Plans 'Hard Look at Afghanistan'

Foreign Relations Committee must ensure effort is 'Afghan, not American'

(Newser) - The Senate Foreign Relations Committee will “take a hard look at Afghanistan” in the coming months, John Kerry tells GlobalPost. The committee hasn’t yet publicly scrutinized the administration’s effort in the country, but “we are not going to abrogate our responsibility,” says the senator, who...

Taliban Truck Bomb Kills 13 Kids in Kabul

(Newser) - A massive truck bomb near Kabul killed 25 people today, including 13 primary school students, and sent pieces of the vehicle flying more than a mile from the blast, reports the AP. The truck overturned in the road last night, and when police arrived this morning to clear the way...

Taliban Claim to Have 'Drunk' US Captive; 7 Soldiers Killed

Taliban also confirms capture of missing US soldier

(Newser) - Seven American troops lost their lives in the stepped-up battle against the Taliban today, the deadliest day for US forces in Afghanistan in nearly a year. The Taliban also confirmed on its website that it is holding an American soldier thought to be in enemy hands. “Five days ago,...

Carville to Advise Karzai Challenger

Says move shouldn't be seen as US looking for change in Afghan leadership

(Newser) - James Carville is headed to Kabul to advise one of Hamid Karzai’s challengers in Afghanistan’s upcoming election, Bloomberg reports. Carville has close ties to Hillary Clinton, but says the move shouldn’t be seen as a sign the Obama administration is pushing for a leadership change. “I...

Mullahs to Marines: Earn Our Trust or Leave

Elders tell American forces to earn their trust or leave

(Newser) - In their first meeting with local elders in the southern Afghanistan village they’re trying to rid of the Taliban, US Marines received a rather unusual greeting: Earn our trust or leave. Mullahs delivered the stern warning after the American forces promised not to leave until they improved the lives...

Ravaged by War, Bitter Afghans Sneak Into Europe

Conditions aren't much better, but youth want escape from war, death

(Newser) - Fed up with years of war and shaky government, young Afghans are forking over their life savings to be smuggled into Europe, the New York Times reports. An American-led invasion once inspired optimism, but 18,000 residents sought asylum in Europe last year, nearly double the total in 2007. “...

2 US Troops Killed in Attack on Afghan Base

30 Taliban killed in gun battle at base near Pakistan border

(Newser) - Two American troops were killed when militants attacked a base in eastern Afghanistan today, exploding a truck loaded with gravel outside the gates and sparking a 2-hour gunbattle, the AP reports. US forces called in airstrikes to end the clash, killing over 30 insurgents, the governor of Paktika province says....

Russia Agrees to Let US Use Airspace for Afghan War

Deal on supply lines forged ahead of Obama's Russian visit

(Newser) - Russia has agreed to let American planes transporting troops and equipment to Afghanistan fly over its airspace, the BBC reports. The deal will be officially announced next week when President Obama visits Moscow. Volatility affecting supply lines through Pakistan and Central Asia made securing such an agreement one of Obama's...

Taliban Captures Missing US Soldier

(Newser) - Military officials believe that a US soldier who’s been missing since Tuesday has been captured by the Taliban, the Washington Post reports. The soldier appears to have walked off base into an unsecured area for reasons that remain unclear. Today, the Taliban’s Haqqani faction claimed to have captured...

Marines Launch New Afghan Strategy

(Newser) - US Marines today launched a major offensive against the Taliban in Afghanistan that will serve as the first big test of a new American strategy, reports the Washington Post. About 4,000 Marines descended on villages and towns in the remote Helmand province. Their goal, however, isn't to wage war...

Afghan Generals Want, But Won't Get, More Troops

(Newser) - President Obama has sent 21,000 additional troops to Afghanistan so far, and he’s not sending more anytime soon, writes Bob Woodward, who accompanied national security adviser James Jones as he visited commanders last week, delivering the unwelcome news. They repeatedly told him their troops are spread too thin,...

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